Transparency on Cornerstone Critical for NDP

If You’ve Got Nothing To Hide Then Why Not Release The Cornerstone Shareholders Agreement

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

New Democrats,

Thank you for telling us your lawyers will be immediately following up on our questions regarding your involvement with Cornerstone.

Transparency is mandatory on issues like this. Here is a helpful list of information the public looks forward to receiving to assist your lawyers in preparing for their disclosures:

Bills of sale for the NDP Class A Shares

The new Shareholder Agreement, showing no ties between Cornerstone and the NDP

Cash flow statements since 2011 showing transfers between Cornerstone, member organizations and the NDP

Letters of resignation from the five current NDP board members who also sat on the Cornerstone board as of Friday, including the NDP President.

We are also looking forward to your lawyers explaining how you can square Andrea Horwath’s past statements with public information about this company.

When Andrea was first asked about this September 29, 2011, she said in scrums:

Horwath: “It's a separate corporation, separate board of directors.”

As of Friday, five NDP board members also were reported sitting on the board of Cornerstone, a majority of the Cornerstone board. (Corporation Profile Report, May 25, 2018)

Horwath: “It has no role whatsoever in our campaign.”

But the media found: “Ontario’s NDP set up a secretive union-financed holding company to help bankroll election campaigns and serve as its landlord at party headquarters…” (Toronto Star, May 5, 2016)

Horwath: “There's no financial connection whatsoever. It's completely separate. Not a dime…I said there was no direct financial relationship in terms of money flowing from one organization to the other"

But the Toronto Star found: “That corporate structure is not illegal. But it appears to challenge past assertions by the NDP that the party had an arm’s-length relationship with Cornerstone.” (Toronto Star, May 5, 2016.)